The following is based on an upcoming RE Magazine article noting the accomplishments of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative(NRTC) as it celebrates its 20 th anniversary. For more information on RE Magazine, including subscription and advertising information, go to www.nreca.coop/Resources/Publications/remagazine.htm
NRTC is all about bringing new technologies to rural areas. And they are well known for assisting electric co-ops with operations on the ground. In 1995, NRTC introduced power-quality monitoring and Automated Meter Reading (AMR) to member co-ops over the past decade. AMR has come to mean a great deal more to co-ops than just another new technology of which to be proud.
To Homer Electric Association in Homer, Alaska , AMR means increased worker safety. “We have concerns about our meter readers going into the backwoods where there are bears and other problems,” explains Sandra Ghormley, manager of member services. “Our meter population is about eight to nine per mile in very rugged territory. Worker injury related to meter reading is high.”
In October 2004, NRTC presented Cannon Technologies' AMR technology to the co-op for testing, Ghormley says. “We needed to see that it is indeed a fit for us. The tests went so well we couldn't believe it. We looked at the return on investment, all our existing costs today, which included trucks for meter reading, the cost of fuel, the cost of risk out there associated with physically reading meters. We weighed that against the benefits. Financially, the numbers penciled out. This is a good way to go.”
Homer Electric has switched to AMR on 10,000 of 28,000 meters serving some 20,200 people over 2,200 miles of line. “We are now in a five-year build-out to automate our whole system,” Ghormley says.
Another co-op that tested AMR through NRTC is Lane Electric Cooperative in Eugene , Ore. “We are preparing to fully deploy AMR by November,” says Dave D'Avanzo, manager of member services. Lane Electric averages eight meters per mile of line over 2,600 square miles in western Oregon . “We have outfitted and deployed meters from one of our 12 substations. Our goal is to have all substations outfitted before storm season.”
A first-of-its-kind assessment of demand response and advanced metering by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) found that America 's electric co-op network leads the electric utility industry in deploying advanced, energy saving automatic meter technology. Embracing advanced technology to better serve member-owners is a cornerstone of the co-op difference.
Revised and reprinted with permission from RE Magazine, September 2006